Illinois Valley Times

Oglesby Elementary School District 125 Board met August 16. 

Here is the minutes as provided by the board:

Call to Order/Roll Call

Jim Knoblauch, President, called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Present: Bob

Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Jason Curran, Mike Porter, Marc Strand and Jim

Knoblauch. Absent: Mike Barrie. Others present: Michael Pillion, Superintendent,

Michael Balestri, Principal, Merritt Burns, Principal, and Traci Tomasson, Secretary,

Board of Education.

Approval of Agenda

MOTION by Marc Strand, seconded by Doug Kramarsic, to approve the board meeting

agenda for August 16, 2017. Voting aye: Marc Strand, Doug Kramarsic, Bob

Etzenbach, Jason Curran, Mike Porter, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 6-0.

Approval of Consent Agenda

MOTION by Mike Porter, seconded by Bob Etzenbach, to approve the consent agenda,

keeping the June 21, 2017, closed minutes closed. Voting aye: Mike Porter, Bob

Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Jason Curran, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The

motion carried 6-0.

Communications

Mr. Pillion thanked the following for their generous donations: Spring Valley Lion’s

Club, $500; Dr. Michael Kristensen, backpacks and school supplies; Faith Assembly of

God, backpack project; Union Church in Oglesby, backpacks for junior high students.

Kim Curran, S.O.S. President, attended the meeting and named all of this year’s board

members for S.O.S. She thanked the contribution committee, and announced the

upcoming Ice Cream Social. She also said the first S.O.S. meeting will be Monday,

September 11, 6:30 p.m. at Lincoln School. She noted that the fall fundraiser has

changed to selling cookie dough.

Approval of Presentation of Tentative Budget for 2017-2018 and Set On Display

for 30 Days

Mr. Pillion passed out a budget summary for FY2018 to the board members and

discussed the tentative budget, including a summary of the education, building, bond

and interest, transportation, IMRF, working cash, tort, and life safety funds. Mr. Pillion

said this year’s budget is different than any other year since there is still not a spending

mechanism set up for schools. He said at the end of last school year, the state owed

the district $454,401.78. He noted that since then, the district has received some funds.

He explained that he is hoping to have more information regarding funding at the

September meeting. MOTION by Doug Kramarsic, seconded by Marc Strand, to

approve the Presentation of the Tentative Budget for 2017-2018 and Set on Display for

30 Days. Voting aye: Doug Kramarsic, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach,

Jason Curran, Mike Porter, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

Mike Barrie arrived at 5:35 p.m.

Establish Date, Time and Location for Budget Hearing

Mr. Pillion said the Budget Hearing can be held at the next board meeting on

September 20, 2017, 5:30 p.m., with the regular meeting following. MOTION by Bob

Etzenbach, seconded by Jason Curran, to set the Budget Hearing for September 20,

2017, at 5:30 p.m. Voting aye: Bob Etzenbach, Jason Curran, Mike Barrie, Doug

Kramarsic, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

Approval of Change in Extra-Curricular Officials’ Pay

Mr. Pillion said he would like to change the pay for officials and clock keepers. He said

it was brought to his attention that the district was one of the lowest for official pay. He

said he is looking at $58.00 for basketball officials, and he would like someone

consistent to take care of the clock for $25.00 per night. MOTION by Bob Etzenbach,

seconded by Doug Kramarsic, to approve the change in extra-curricular officials’ pay as

presented. Voting aye: Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Barrie, Jason Curran,

Mike Porter, Marc Strand, Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

Reports/Updates

Superintendent Reports/Information

 Enrollment Report– Mr. Pillion passed out the current enrollment report and

noted that there are approximately 30 fewer students than last year on the first

day. He noted that the kindergarten class is smaller this year and some students

still have not enrolled.

 Building Update– Mr. Pillion reported that the cleaning, playground, fencing,

roofing and concrete work are all complete.

 FOIA Update – None

 Updated Organizational Chart Per Policy 3:30 - Mr. Pillion said the organizational

chart has been updated to include the new principals.

Principal Reports/Information (Lincoln)

 Enrollment at Lincoln– Mr. Balestri said the lower enrollment in kindergarten,

second and fourth grade will allow for two sections at those grade levels, and

first, third and fifth grades will each have three sections. He said preschool

enrollment is currently at 105 students, but noted students are continuing to

register and there is space available.

 Technology and Stem Opportunities– Mr. Balestri said there are two complete

classroom sets of Chromebooks for use in classes this year. He said funds from

the S.O.S. Trivia allowed for the purchase of Lego WeDo 2.0 kits that will

introduce students to engineering concepts. He said each class will also have

access to Mystery Science and PBL (Problem Based Learning) websites to

supplement curriculum materials with a focus on Science and Social Studies.

 P.B.I.S. – Mr. Balestri said the Lincoln School’s P.B.I.S. team was recognized as

Gold Status by the Midwest P.B.I.S. network. He congratulated the internal

coaches, universal team and the entire staff on an excellent job facilitating,

implementing and supporting the P.B.I.S. program.

 Staff Development – Mr. Balestri said a representative group of staff attended an

AimsWeb Plus webinar on August 7th to help transition to our new benchmarking

and progress monitoring system. He said staff will be working to align the social

studies curriculum to the new Illinois Learning Standards throughout the school

year. He explained that Kids at the Core will be continuing work with assessment

starting on the second institute day, and returning to work with a small group of

teachers on September 13th

. He also noted that mandated trainings will be taken

care of online using Ed Leaders Network.

Principal Reports/Information (Washington)

 Enrollment- Mr. Burns reported enrollment numbers at Washington School as

follows: 55 registered for 6th grade, 40 registered for 7th grade, and 46 registered

for 8th grade.

 RtI– Mr. Burns said there will be a scheduling change from alternating days to

two week blocks, and noted that the daily schedule of interventions will include:

Khan Academy, ReadTheory, and NewsELA.

 Curriculum – Mr. Burns said there is a new staff member for Computers and

there will be weekly units of coding, cross-curriculum content and technology

blending, as well as the current typing skill development.

 P.B.I.S. – Mr. Burns said there will be a school assembly September 8th to blend

science, character development and the superhero theme. He said the kick-off

will be the first Friday of the first week of school.

 Athletics – Mr. Burns said as the Athletic Director he will be assuming all duties

from the coaches to include game scheduling, referees, and gym schedule. He

said the Parent-Athlete Meeting will be one meeting this year at the beginning of

the school year for all prospective athletes and their parents. He said it will cover

guidelines set forth by IESA, concussion policies, expectations for conduct, and a

meeting with individual coaches to gather sport specific insights and schedules.

Old Business

None

New Business

Mr. Knoblauch said the finance and building and grounds committees need to set up

meetings within the month. He asked the committee members to send dates to Mr.

Pillion by September 20 if possible.

Delegations

None

Closed Session

MOTION by Mike Porter, seconded by Jason Curran, to enter into closed session at

6:05 p.m. to discuss:

1. The appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance,

or dismissal of specific employees of the public body or legal counsel

for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged

against an employee of the public body or against legal counsel for the

public body to determine its validity. 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1).

Voting aye: Mike Porter, Jason Curran, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic,

Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

MOTION by Mike Porter, seconded by Doug Kramarsic, to return to regular session at

6:11 p.m. Voting aye: Mike Porter Doug Kramarsic, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach,

Jason Curran, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

Action Items after Closed Session

Approval of Hiring of Personnel

MOTION by Mike Barrie, seconded by Mike Porter, to approve the hiring of Matthew

Dennison for K-5 Music at Lincoln School as presented. Voting aye: Mike Barrie, Mike

Porter, Bob Etzenbach, Doug Kramarsic, Jason Curran, Marc Strand, and Jim

Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

Approval of Re-Employment

MOTION by Doug Kramarsic, seconded by Marc Strand, to approve the re-employment

of Amy Arthur as presented. Voting aye: Doug Kramarsic, Marc Strand, Mike Barrie,

Bob Etzenbach, Jason Curran, Mike Porter, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried

7-0.

Approval of Leave Requests

MOTION by Mike Porter, seconded by Doug Kramarsic, to approve the leave requests

as presented. Voting aye: Mike Porter, Doug Kramarsic, Mike Barrie, Bob Etzenbach,

Jason Curran, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion carried 7-0.

Approval of Resignation

MOTION by Bob Etzenbach, seconded by Mike Barrie, to approve the resignation of

Tara Cozzi as cheerleading coach as presented. Voting aye: Bob Etzenbach, Mike

Barrie, Doug Kramarsic, Jason Curran, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch.

The motion carried 7-0.

Approval of Extra-Curricular Positions

MOTION by Mike Barrie, seconded by Doug Kramarsic, to approve the updated ExtraCurricular

Positions as presented. Voting aye: Mike Barrie, Doug Kramarsic, Bob

Etzenbach, Jason Curran, Mike Porter, Marc Strand, and Jim Knoblauch. The motion

carried 7-0.

Adjourn

MOTION by Marc Strand, seconded by Bob Etzenbach, to adjourn. All in favor, aye.

The motion carried 7-0. Time: 6:17 p.m

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